High Environmental Costs Research Articles

Impact on performance and emissions of the aspiration of algal biomass suspensions in the intake air of a direct injection diesel engine

Recently, the production of sustainable biofuels from algal biomass has gained significant attention and been investigated as a potential replacement of fossil fuel. However, existing downstream processes for producing biodiesel from algae cells are complex, highly energy-intensive, and have high economic and environmental cost. Therefore, this work introduces an alternative and novel method of utilizing the energy content of microalgae that precludes lipid extraction by aspirating wet algal biomass suspensions directly into the intake air of an internal combustion engine.For all engine experiments, powdered algae cells were prepared as slurries at different biomass concentrations. The impacts of (i) varying the biomass concentration with constant suspension injection flowrate into the engine intake and (ii) varying suspension injection flowrate with constant biomass concentration were investigated.A correlation between engine work produced during combustion and algal biomass aspiration was found. At constant flowrate and greater than 5% biomass concentrations, an increase of energy release during combustion from the aspirated algae could be observed. However, the aspiration of low concentration biomass suspension produced a negative impact on engine performance relative to water-only aspiration. The engine exhaust gas of nitrogen oxides (NOx) was reduced for all algae suspension tests relative to diesel-only combustion. However, the carbon monoxide (CO) emission level was much higher relative to diesel-only tests at high biomass concentrations and injection flowrate.These findings demonstrate the possibility of utilising the energy content of algal biomass in combustion without lipid extraction, with added benefits of reducing NOx emissions.

Measuring the capacity utilization of China’s regional construction industries considering undesirable output

As most industries in developing countries still follow a relatively rough development model, relying on expansionary investment and paying high environmental costs to promote economic growth, they also face the predicament of excess capacity. Conducting capacity utilization (CU) measurement research is the core of dealing with excess capacity. However, most existing research into capacity utilization is concentrated in the manufacturing, coal, and other industries. The quantitative evaluation of the construction industry capacity utilization is very rare, and the environmental impact factors are neglected. This study aims to develop a capacity utilization measurement index system and use it for the measurement of the construction industry capacity utilization. In doing this, based on the undesirable output perspective, it establishes a capacity utilization measurement index system that considers energy consumption and undesirable output (CO2) for the measurement of construction industry capacity utilization. Two data envelopment analysis-based (DEA-based) difference methods (the “no variable-link difference” and the “adding variable-link difference” methods) are used to measure China's construction industry capacity utilization between 2011 and 2017. The findings indicate that using the adding variable-link difference method is more accurate than the no variable-link difference method. It is also shown that the underutilization of capacity in China's construction industry in 2011–2014 is more serious, but it has improved in the past three years. In addition, with the exception of the Jiangsu and Guangxi provinces, there is underutilization of capacity in the construction industry in other provinces and cities in China. This study extends the existing knowledge system of capacity utilization, including the evaluation system, measurement, and assessment of capacity utilization, and management implications. Based on the perspective of undesirable outputs, this study lays a foundation for research into the capacity utilization in various industries by considering environmental factors. This study has practical significance for China and other developing countries to establish a nationwide capacity monitoring system.

Step-by-step process of making the case for sustainable investment in wellbeing and health equity

Abstract Issue Urgent action is needed to address the growing health, inequity, economic and planetary challenges that threaten the wellbeing of present and future generations. Business as usual has proven unsustainable with high human, social, economic and environmental costs. Coordinated policy action on the determinants of health combined with well-designed and implemented governance and innovative investment approaches can have a dual effect: a) reducing the health gap; and b) improving overall population health. Description The WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Wellbeing has developed a practical step-by-step guide, outlining the process of how to synthesise, translate and communicate public health and economics evidence into policy and practice, in order to make the case for investment in wellbeing and health equity. It aims to: 1) prevent disinvestment in health; 2) increase investment in prevention / public health; and 3) mainstream cross-sector investment to address the wider determinants of health and equity, driving prosperity for all. Building on the Knowledge-to-Action framework and an extensive international multi-disciplinary consultation, four key phases are described: 1) Project scoping and planning; 2) Evidence gathering, synthesis and design; 3) Dissemination and communication; and 4) Monitoring and evaluation. Key messages, different products and a number of practical tools and tips are highlighted. An essential element is using health economics approaches and tools to build the case, showing the burden of inaction in parallel with available sustainable solutions, which can bring ‘social return on investment’. Results/Lessons The result of the above-described process is the development of evidence-informed, context-tailored advocacy documents and tools, enabling healthy policy- and decision-making across different sectors, levels of government and country settings.

A practical guide to make the case for sustainable investment in well-being and health

Abstract Growing health, inequity, economic and environmental challenges threaten the well-being of present and future generations. Current investment policies and practices are unsustainable and result in high human, social, economic and environmental costs. Countries require the tools to build the case for investment in areas of greatest need by applying evidence-informed practice. A practical guide with tools and resources was developed on how to develop an evidence-informed product to make the case for investment in well-being and health equity. Stakeholder interviews with national and international experts in health policy, equity, economics and social sciences were conducted to inform the outline of the guide and identify enablers for creating evidence-informed products. An evidence review gathered tools and resources on how to translate and communicate public health evidence into policy and practice. An international cross-sector expert consultation assured relevance and transferability of the guide across countries, contexts and policies. The guide aims to prevent disinvestment in health and increase investment in prevention as well as mainstream cross-sector investment to target the wider determinants of well-being and health equity. It outlines how to synthesise, translate and communicate public health and health economic evidence into policy and practice and proposes a step-by-step approach following four key phases (i) project scoping and planning, (ii) evidence gathering, synthesis and design, (iii) dissemination and communication, (iv) monitoring and evaluation. The guide presents information to develop an evidence-informed product to make the case for sustainable investment in an innovative and informative way for use by a range of stakeholders. It accounts for policies and contexts and is communicated in a way that is accessible for decision-makers, easy to use and available as hard copy and interactive version. Key messages Investing in well-being and health equity drives and enables sustainable development. Making the case for investment in health equity requires a well-planned, evidence-informed approach.

Productivity, economic performance, and soil quality of conventional, mixed, and organic dryland farming systems in eastern Washington State

The global trends of shortening crop rotations, simplifying cropping systems, and segregating livestock from cropping enterprises have generated high yields while creating high environmental costs. Diversification, including integrated crop/livestock systems and the use of cover, forage, and perennial crops, can be used to improve soil health, reduce financial risk, increase yields, and reduce many negative environmental externalities. With such diversification in mind, we conducted a 5-year study examining four contrasting farming systems in dryland eastern Washington State in terms of their impacts on total productivity, economic performance, and soil quality. The four systems were a conventional (CONV) winter wheat/spring wheat/spring pea rotation, typical for the area; a mixed crop-livestock (MIX) winter wheat/spring wheat/grazed winter pea forage rotation; an organic mixed crop-livestock (ORGcrop) rotation of 3 yr perennial alfalfa and grass/grazed pea forage/winter wheat; and an organic hay (ORGhay) continuous perennial alfalfa and grass system. Soft white winter wheat (SWWW) yields were higher following grazed pea forage in MIX (6.2 Mg ha−1) than following harvested pea crop in CONV (5.9 Mg ha−1) despite lower N fertilizer rates in MIX. Following 3 yr of alfalfa and grass hay and no N fertilizer, SWWW yields in ORGcrop (6.2 Mg ha−1) were similar to CONV and MIX yields but averaged 15.5% lower protein concentration. Over the 5-yr rotation, average net returns were ORGhay ($616 yr−1) > ORGcrop (216 yr−1) > MIX (−1 yr−1) = CONV (−13 yr−1), in part due to high hay prices and average grain prices during this period compared to long-term averages. Over the course of the study, total soil profile SOC showed significant negative trends in CONV (−3.1 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) and MIX (−4.1 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) but not in ORGcrop and ORGhay. In surface (0–15 cm) soil, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and beta-glucosidase activity were greater in ORGcrop and ORGhay than in CONV and MIX. The landscape position of this study site is of relatively poorer soil quality and results may differ across the heterogeneity of a whole farm field. Overall, ORGhay, ORGcrop, MIX, and CONV in this order produced a gradation of forage production relative to cereal production from greatest to least, and also a gradation of economic and soil sustainability metrics from greatest to least. This study found that integrating perennial crops, such as alfalfa and forage grasses, into organic farming systems can build soil quality, be profitable, and supply nitrogen to succeeding grain crops.

Ocean currents and coastal exposure to offshore releases of passively transported material in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is heavily exploited by the oil industry. Incidental oil releases, such as the 2010 blowout of the Deepwater Horizon platform, lead to a large scale dispersion of pollutants by ocean currents, contaminating the coastline and damaging the ecosystems. In order to determine whether the ocean dynamics hampers or conversely fosters the landing of material in the coastal regions, we simulate more than 29 000 individual tracer releases in the offshore waters of the GoM. We assume that the tracers are not decaying and transported passively by the ocean currents. In a first part of our study we focus on the mean dispersion pattern of 80 releases occurring at the location of the Deepwater Horizon. In a second part, we generalize the metrics that we defined to the whole GoM. Our study shows that releases occurring in specific regions, i.e. the bay of Campeche, off the Mississipi-Alabama-Florida and the West Florida shelfs are associated with higher environmental costs as the ocean currents steer the released material toward the productive coastal ecosystems and foster landings. Conversely, the tracers released off the Louisiana-Texas-shelfs and the center of the Gulf of Mexico are less threatening for coastal regions as the material recirculates offshore. We show that the coastline of the southwest part of the Bay of Campeche, the Mississipi’s mouth and the Island of Cuba are particularly exposed as 70% of the landings occur in these 3 regions.

Quantification of the Cost and Potential Environmental Effects of Unused Pharmaceutical Products in Cataract Surgery

Pharmaceutical products, including unused portions, may contribute to financial and environmental costs in the United States. Because cataract surgery is performed millions of times each year in the United States and throughout the rest of the world, understanding these financial and environmental costs associated with cataract surgery is warranted. To investigate the financial and environmental costs of unused pharmaceutical products after phacoemulsification surgery. This descriptive qualitative study included 4 surgical sites in the northeastern United States (a private ambulatory care center, private tertiary care center, private outpatient center, and federally run medical center for veterans). Prices and data for use of services and pharmaceuticals were obtained for the tertiary care and outpatient centers from January 1 through April 30, 2016; for the ambulatory care center from June 1, 2017, through March 31, 2018; and the federal medical center from November 1, 2017, through February 28, 2018. Data were collected from routine phacoemulsification surgical procedures without vitreous loss or other complications. Volume or weight of medications remaining after surgery was measured. Total and mean costs of medications per case and month were calculated. Environmental effects were estimated using economic input-output life cycle assessment methods. Data were analyzed from December 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018. Cost of unused pharmaceutical products (in US dollars) and kilogram equivalents of carbon emissions (carbon dioxide [CO2-e]), air pollution (fine particulate matter emissions of ≤10 μm in diameter [PM10-e]), and eutrophication potential (nitrogen [N-e]). A total of 116 unique drugs were surveyed among the 4 centers. Assuming unmeasured medications had no materials left unused, a cumulative mean 83 070 of 183 304 mL per month (45.3%) of pharmaceuticals were unused by weight or volume across all sites. Annual unused product cost estimates reached approximately $195 200 per site. A larger percentage of eyedrops (65.7% by volume) were unused compared with injections (24.8%) or systemic medications (59.9%). Monthly unused quantities at the ambulatory care center (65.9% by volume [54 971 of 83 440 mL]), tertiary care center (21.3% [17 143 of 80 344 mL]), federal medical center (38.5% [265 of 689 mL]), and outpatient center (56.8% [10 691 of 18 832 mL]) resulted in unnecessary potential emissions at each center of 2135, 2498, 418, and 711 kg CO2-e/mo, respectively. Unnecessary potential air pollution between sites varied from 0.8 to 4.5 kg PM10-e/mo, and unnecessary eutrophication potential between sites varied from 0.07 to 0.42 kg N-e/mo. This study suggests that unused pharmaceutical products during phacoemulsification result in relatively high financial and environmental costs. If these findings can be substantiated and shown to be generalizable in the United States or elsewhere, reducing these costs may be of value.

Cd contamination status and cost-benefits analysis in agriculture soils of Yangtze River basin

Soil is a fundamental carrier to support for human living and development and has been polluted seriously by heavy metals. This fact highlights the urgency to realize soil heavy metal pollution prevention through soil heavy metals contamination status assessment and root cause analysis. The previous research tends to focus status assessment and source identification without consideration of economic aspect. This study realized the systematic analysis from status assessment, sources identification and economic-environmental cost-benefits analysis in the Yangtze River basin. Through the spatial difference comparison among the provinces of upper, middle and lower in the Yangtze River basin, it revealed that anthropogenic influence is the main reason caused the current Cd contamination in Yangtze River basin. An interesting finding is that the human caused Cd concentration contribution amount is nearly the same between upstream and downstream which is all about 0.1 mg/kg, while they have quite different economic scale. It indicated that due to the difference of the scale and structure of local economy, and the level of cleaner production and pollution treatment, some regions could own high economic-benefits and low environmental cost, which it is opposite in other regions. The geographic location and natural resources is the root cause to form the environmental cost-economic benefits difference among regions. The convenient traffic promoted downstream to develop large amount and high quality of economy. The natural mineral resources promoted midstream to develop resources based economy. The poor condition of traffic and natural resources has restricted the development of Qinghai province, and made it has the highest Cd pollution intensity. The results would provide effective economic management measures for better soil quality and sustainable development goals achievement.

Environmental Management Practices within Agritourism Boarding Houses in Romania: A Qualitative Study Among Managers

Small accommodation businesses such as agritourism boarding houses (ATBHs) provide a large share of accommodating capacity in certain rural destinations. Despite their small accommodation capacity, ATBHs consume substantial quantities of water and energy; this consumption implies high environmental costs. The present study aims to explore opinions of ATBH owner-managers regarding water and energy consumption in their businesses, what motivates them to adopt environmental practices, and the specific saving measures used within the tourist accommodation units they manage. A qualitative research was conducted, using semi-structured interviews among 12 Romanian ATBH owner-managers. Data analysis revealed that the interviewed owner-managers understand the importance of natural resource conservation in tourist destinations but they are not willing or have insufficient financial, time, organizational resources, etc. to engage in serious water and energy saving initiatives. Moreover, most interviewed managers indicated that tourists cannot make a significant contribution to natural resources conservation in accommodation units and perceive water and energy saving systems as more effective than the environmental education of visitors in their facility. These findings may be useful to tourism policy-makers and environmental organizations in order to develop effective environmental strategies in ATBHs.

Comprehensive evaluation of environmental footprints of regional crop production: A case study of Chizhou City, China

Thanks to Green Revolution, worldwide crop production was significantly enhanced and hunger substantially reduced. However, China's crop production has been developed at high-resource consumption and high-environmental costs, varying regionally in total intensity and proportion of different inputs. Exploring the driving factors for changes in environmental pressures could be a key approach for manipulating agricultural sustainability at regional scale. This case study examined the agricultural development of a prefecture city, Chizhou Municipality, in lower reach of Yangtze River valley, China, over the period 2004–2015. The driving forces underlying the environmental pressures were explored in terms of carbon and water footprint along with reactive nitrogen release, associated with crop production. Analysis of the decadal trend of these footprint indicators revealed decoupling between crop production growth and environmental pressures. This decoupling, however, did not occur in a uniform manner, the threat of high-material input and high-environmental costs from crop production remains. In general, investment, technology, and urbanization accelerated low-carbon and environmentally friendly crop production, whereas agricultural economic level and population size have had contrasting effects. Thus, for sound development of regional agriculture, substantial investments for and with innovative technology should be promoted to improve crop production in the region administrated under prefecture cities.

Decreasing ammonia loss from an Australian pasture with the use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers

Mitigating ammonia (NH3) volatilization from intensive pasture systems is critical for environmental sustainability. However, field-scale evaluation on the potential of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (e.g. urease inhibitors and controlled-release fertilizers) in mitigating NH3 volatilization is limited. Using a micrometeorological technique, we conducted two field trials to investigate the effects of Green UreaNV® (urea coated with the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide, NBPT) and polymer-coated urea (a controlled-release fertilizer) on NH3 volatilization from an intensive rainfed pasture in southern Australia. We found that NH3 volatilization from urea was 5.8 and 5.6 kg N ha–1, respectively, in the autumn and spring trials, equivalent to 11–12% of the applied urea in each season. The use of Green UreaNV® and polymer-coated urea decreased the cumulative NH3 volatilization by 45–55% and 80%, respectively. Taking into consideration the high environmental damage cost of NH3 as found in the European Union, we hypothesize that both Green UreaNV® and polymer-coated urea can be cost-effective in mitigating NH3 loss from this pasture. Our findings suggest that the extra cost of using these enhanced efficiency fertilizers for farmers is not compensated by the fertilizer N value of decreased NH3 loss. However, from a societal perspective the extra cost for Green UreaNV® is likely outweighed by reduced environmental cost of NH3. New fertilizer technology should be developed to improve the cost-effectiveness of polymer-coated urea to the farmers.

Mechanical Characterization of a New Architectural Concrete with Glass-Recycled Aggregate

Concrete is a material which is widely used in architecture, not only for structural purposes but also for architectural elements for its versatility and excellent performance. However, the manufacturing of this material as a mixture of water, cement, and fine and coarse aggregate comes with a high environmental cost, such as gas emissions, among other things. This is the reason why different alternatives are being proposed in order to replace coarse aggregates with other recycled materials, as it is one of the less sustainable components of the mixture in terms of extraction. One of these alternatives is recycled glass coming from drinking bottles, crushed into small grains and mixed in the same proportions as regular aggregates. This study proposes the mechanical characterization of a new architectural concrete mixture by using white Lafarge cement and glass-recycled aggregates; this proposed concrete is made especially for architectural elements like façade panels, rather than structural elements. The mechanical evaluation of this new material is done through a set of experimental tests under compression and also bending, comparing three different ratios of glass aggregate in the mixture.

ECOEFICIÊNCIA E PREÇO SOMBRA DAS EMISSÕES DE GASES DE EFEITO ESTUFA NA SUINOCULTURA BRASILEIRA

Nas últimas décadas a suinocultura tornou-se uma importante atividade para o agronegócio brasileiro, com contribuições para o desenvolvimento econômico do país. Contudo, esse setor apresenta um grande potencial poluente, com um elevado custo ambiental relacionado ao processo produtivo. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo estimar a ecoeficiência na produção brasileira de suínos, os preços sombra e os custos totais das emissões de Gases de Efeito Estufa (GEE). O método utilizado para atingir o objetivo proposto foi a Análise Envoltória de Dados combinada com o método de Funções Distâncias Direcionais. Foram estabelecidos dois padrões de dados na pesquisa dos municípios produtores de suínos em nove Estados brasileiros. Para o Padrão 1, em média, os municípios podem elevar a produção em 36,9% e reduzir as emissões de CO2 e na mesma proporção, com a mesma quantidade de insumos. Para o Padrão 2 esse valor foi de 47,22%. Os preços sombra médios ficaram em R$ 3.539,81 no Padrão 1 e R$ 3.677,07 no Padrão 2. As estimativas dos custos totais da redução das emissões de CO2 e foram de R$ 1,37 bilhões, o equivalente a 468% da produção em 2006, para o Padrão 1, e R$ 1,42 bilhões, correspondente a 486% da produção em 2006, para o Padrão 2. Portanto, constatou-se que a incorporação desses custos é praticamente inviável, pois levaria à descontinuidade das propriedades. Desse modo, a pesquisa indica a necessidade de redesenhar um sistema dissuasivo de punições e incentivos, que considere os preços sombra para que os produtores de suínos internalizem as externalidades negativas e busquem compensações para as ações que reduzam as emissões ou utilizem tecnologias mais limpas. A principal contribuição do trabalho é a inclusão da análise de eficiência considerando a variável ambiental, questão ainda pouco abordada na literatura.

Rational trade-offs between yield increase and fertilizer inputs are essential for sustainable intensification: A case study in wheat–maize cropping systems in China

In order to feed a population of nearly 1.4 billion people with limited arable land resources, China's high crop production has been maintained by an intensive cropping system with excessive inputs of chemical fertilizers, resulting in high environmental costs. This study attempted to explore the reasonable balance between yield increase and nitrogen (N) inputs in the intensive wheat–maize cropping system in the North China Plain, which is one of the most important grain production regions in China. Based on yield simulations with the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat and DSSAT-CERES-Maize models and a household survey of 241 farmers' fields, we conducted a coupled analysis of the regional crop yields, N fertilizer inputs, and farmers' technical conversion efficiency with respect to winter wheat and summer maize production in four representative study areas. We also conducted a quantitative analysis of the equilibrium relationship between fertilizer application rates and expected yields, and the optimum N fertilization amounts for wheat and maize were recommended. The results indicated that farmers' average yields had reached almost 80% of the attainable yields, which meant that there was little room for farmers to increase their yields. However, we found that the yield gaps among the different farmers were still large, and most farmers applied excessive amounts of N while obtaining unsatisfactory yields due to poor fertilizer management techniques. Only 15% of winter wheat and 4% of summer maize on farmers' fields had achieved the synergy of high crop yields and efficient fertilization, and farmers' technical conversion efficiency was still relatively low. Therefore, farmers should be guided to appropriately lower their yield expectations and reduce the overuse of N fertilizer. In the future, if farmers receive necessary education and training and adopt advanced fertilizer management techniques, sustainable intensification of agricultural production with lower environmental costs will be feasible in China.

Environmental benefits of electronic commerce over the conventional retail trade? A case study in Shenzhen, China

Electronic commerce has been becoming the new driver of the retail industry. The large-scale expansion of electronic commerce with additional packaging certainly increases stress on the environment. However, a comparative analysis of environmental impacts of electronic commerce and conventional retail trade channels is unavailable. In this study, an Average Package Difference Model (APDM) was developed to evaluate CO2 emissions difference via the two retail channels in Shenzhen, China based on a life-cycle perspective. In the meanwhile, the national emission was estimated by the above results. Our results suggest that conventional retail has a higher environmental cost than that of electronic commerce, especially during shopping trips. Specifically, average CO2 emission difference per package in terms of product returns, packaging, buildings and transportation were 0.14 ± 0.03, 0.84 ± 0.08, 0.67 ± 0.04, 1.3 ± 0.26 kg, respectively. CO2 is mainly emitted from buildings and consumer trips in conventional retail trade, whereas packaging is mainly responsible for CO2 emission in e-commerce. In China, the total CO2 emission difference between conventional retail and electronic commerce was 124 million tons in 2016. Growth of the proportion of electronic commerce will contribute to lower CO2 emissions induced by the entire retail industry. Actually, carbon emissions can be reduced in both conventional retail and electronic commerce, such as the reusable packaging, opening shopping centers in dense population zones and promoting the usage of public transportation.

Tradeoff between economic and environmental costs and benefits of hydropower production at run-of-river-diversion schemes under different environmental flows scenarios

With the boom of hydropower industry, it has never been more important than now to re-assess approaches to a sustainable hydropower projects management. We evaluated the environmental and economic costs and benefits (namely environmental and economic effects) of implementing different hydrology-based environmental flow restrictions (i.e., environmental flows scenarios) at nine run-of-river power plants involving flow diversions, located at pluvial, nival and stable river reaches in Spain. For each scenario, economic effects were inferred from energy production figures, whereas environmental effects along the bypassed river reach came from the deviations of the ecologically meaningful flow attributes from the unaltered flow regime. We found a linear inverse relationship between both effects, which were the lowest for the pluvial type reaches. Imposing significantly low constant flows resulted into the highest energy production but at the highest environmental costs, whereas the opposite happened when using more complex environmental flow methodologies which also imposed flow fluctuations and annual floods, and restricted ramping rates. The ecologically meaningful flow attributes were not similarly affected in all tested environmental flows scenarios. We present a simple approach to define the environmental flow standards at run-of-river-diversion schemes that guarantee the right balance between rivers conservation and energy production, and which are valid for all rivers sharing similar flow regime patterns. In such definition it is possible to address specific ecological goals by prioritizing the naturalness of certain key flow attributes.

Porphyrinic Metal–Organic Frameworks Installed with Brønsted Acid Sites for Efficient Tandem Semisynthesis of Artemisinin

Artemisinin, an essential antimalarial drug, requires a synthetic pathway that has a high environmental and financial cost. Conventional homogeneous photocatalysts and acid catalysts usually suffer...

Nurturing natural capital

Nurturing natural capital

Using Delays to Decrease Paper Consumption in Food Service and Laboratory Settings

Recent research has indicated high economic and environmental costs of human paper usage. Technologies have been developed to reduce consumers’ paper use behavior, including mechanical dispensers that institute a delay between opportunities to obtain each consecutive unit. However, there is no empirical evidence that these dispensers or delays reduce paper use. In Experiment 1, implementing a delay between paper-unit deliveries using mechanical dispensers in a university cafe resulted in a significant decrease in units per person, material per person, and cost per person, compared to free-access dispensers. In Experiment 2, a relatively long delay was more effective than a short delay in reducing paper consumption in a laboratory experiment using mechanical dispensers. These results indicate that delays could be used to decrease paper use in many contexts on a larger scale. More research is necessary to determine the underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for the observed reduction and the cost–benefit relationship under different circumstances.

BIODEGRADATION OF PULP SLUDGE BY Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Penicillium oxalicum and Penicillium citrinum AFTER SIX MONTHS INCUBATION

The rise of pulp and paper production due to market’s demand will also increase both main and secondary products of pulp. Secondary products such as pulp sludge have low economic value, but high environmental cost. Therefore it needs improved technology input to raise its value. This study aims to evaluate the ability of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a combination of Penicillium citrinum and P. oxalicum and a mixture of those three fungal species in decomposing pulp sludge after one and six months incubation. The pulp sludge was collected from pulp company in North Sumatera, Indonesia and it was pre-treated prior to composting. The composting was conducted by inoculating P. chrysosporium, a combination of P. oxalicum and P. citrinum or a mixture of those fungal species with a density of 107 spores/ml into 15 kg treated sludge. The inoculated sludge was then incubated for one and six months. Analysis was held for the non-inoculated and inoculated sludge regarding pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) (me/100 g), macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) (%), micronutrients (S, Zn) (ppm) and heavy metals (Pb, Cd) (ppm). After one month incubation, P. chrysosporium was leading in enhancing sludge’s macro and micronutrients. After six months incubation, a combination of P. oxalicum and P. citrinum generated higher P, K, CEC and reduced lead content of the sludge. Meanwhile, a mixture of the three fungus species produced the highest N and Mg.